GO AHEAD AND GOSSIP Harriet, the church gossip and self-appointed supervisor of the church’s morals, kept sticking her nose into other people’s business.

Several residents were unappreciative of her activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence. She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his pickup truck parked all afternoon in front of the town’s only bar. She commented to George and others that everyone seeing it there would know that he was an alcoholic. George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and then just walked away. He said nothing. Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Harriet’s house and left it there all night... (Pulpit Helps, April 2003)